In this WIRED Briefing, WIRED's deputy global editorial director Greg Williams and Peter Smith, previous head of procurement at NatWest and author of Bad Buying explored how poor practice across the public and private sectors is wasting billions, drawing from real-life inspirations Smith shares how we can turn "bad buying" into "good buying", from purchasing technology to procuring multi-million-pound international companies.
Recent studies estimate that over 90 per cent of all procurement projects fail to launch properly, leading to billions being wasted each year, mismanagement and – in the worst cases – fraud.
In this virtual briefing, Smith highlights how we can learn from these mistakes and share initiatives that smaller companies and startups can implement to avoid corruption and mismanagement. His specific-industry look into choosing the right suppliers, investing in technology to detect fraud, and getting the company specifications right before creating and scaling up your business is crucial for any founder.
Peter Smith has over 35 years' experience in procurement and supply chains as a manager, procurement director, consultant, analyst and writer, and is the managing director of Procurement Excellence Ltd, a leading specialist consulting firm. Smith has an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University and is recognised as one of the UK's leading experts in performance improvement for public and private sector procurement. His first book, Buying Professional Services, was published by Profile in 2010.
Designed as an extension of WIRED’s long-running live conference portfolio, WIRED Briefings are punchy, deliberate and engaging sessions that reflect the same high calibre of speakers and programming featured at a WIRED event. Part of the WIRED Foresight series, curated by WIRED deputy global editorial director, Greg Williams.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
